Planishing machine



Feb. 19, 1946. w, K. BECKWITH PLANISHING MACI-IiNE Filed Nov. 27, 1943ATTOEA/ZPd Patented Feb. 19, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEPIiANISHING MACHINE wade]: K. Beckwith, Whitewater, Wis assignor toMilwaukee Electric Tool Corporation, Mil waukee', was, a corporation ofWisconsin Application November 2'1, 1943, Serial Na. 511,918 9 Claims.(01.153 32) The present invention relates in general to imsheet metalfor the construction of various parts,

and it is also extremely desirable to have the surfaces of this sheetmetal as smooth and free from irregularities, as possible. Since nosuitable mechanical means or mechanism for properly smoothing orplanishing such thin sheet ma terial, was heretofore available, it haslong been common practice to manually hammer thesheets to propersmoothness, and this procedure besides being very tedious and costly,frequently did not result in a desirably smooth finished product andoften resulted in waste of valuable sheet stock. Then too; it requires ahigh degree of skill and special adaptation, for a workman to be able topla'ni'sh such sheets by hand and with the aid of a hammer or mallet;and since large quantities of sheet metal are required and must be plan?ished and only a limited number of individuals for doing this class ofWork are available, the manufacture of airplanes has heretofore beenseriously hampered and delayed.

t is therefore a: more specific object of the present invention toprovide a new and: useful planishing machine which greatly facilitatesthe work of smoothing relatively thin sheet metalor the like andreducesthe skill and dexterity necessary for this type of work therebyenhancing the production of airplanes and the like.

Another specific object of this invention is to provide improvedmechanism for enabling relatively unskilled workmen to quickly andeffective ly planish sheet metal parts of'diverse shapes and sizes,while eliminatin waste of stock. 7

A further specific object of my invention is to provide simple anddurable metal planishing' equipment Whichcan be conveniently operated ormanipulated while the operator is seated, and which may also bemanufactured at moderate cost and is highly flexible in its adaptations.

mode of constructing and of manipulating plan ishing machine's embodyingthe: invention, may be had by referring to the drawing accompanying andforming a part of this specification wherein like reference charactersdesignate the same or similar parts in the various views. v p v Fig. 1is a part sectioha-lpers'pective view ofm'Y improved sheet metalplanisher, portions there; having been broken away in order to moreclearly reveal normally concealed parts H Fig. 2 is" a}relativelydiagrammatic fragmentary section taken through the workingzone" of the machine;and H U Fig 3 is; a} view showingthe' applicationof" the" ach t i nsesiw -i v o W h e the .i en nt n shs n m 5 scribeclherein as having been embodied infla' ped estal type' of normallystationary plani'sher hat/" ing. a pneumatically actuated" hammerandbeing especially adapted to iron or straighten sheet metal parts ofdiverseshapesitis notmy desire or intent to therebyunnecessarilyrestrict the scope or utility of the improved-features;

iral a normally fixed frame or support having a base 4, a hollowuprightjcolumn 5 secured'toaridj rising from the base A; and an upper arifn orbracket 6: secured to: the top of the column' 5 and:

winner-many fix d or" stationary frame coiii? prising the base 4;,column 5,f and bracket 6' y be of any desired size and shapejdepending'upon 'the type of work to'be" performed bythe ma:

ohi'ne', but should e of sturdy construction with the several partsformed hollowfor proper con- These and other specific objects and advanltagesof the invention will be apparent from the following detaileddescription. Y n n A clearconception of the several featurescon';

stituting' the present improvement, and of the cealinent and protectionofinternal structure and mechanisms. The hammerfwhich actuates thiefimpact element 8, may alsobe ofanvdesiredcom struction, anda's shown;this hammer oi; the ne me qxivpe h n er c l d ta li d W hin" wh m i nxs. r p d re' rocab-le byairunder pressurejsoastgimpart pulses totheimpact element-8, in awelll'known manner. The impact element 8 which ispreferthe adjacent sheaves 29 and are wrapped snugly aroimd these twosheaves in opposite directions. The cable tensioning lever 37 isswingably sus-' pended from a fixed pivot shaft 39, and a tensionadjusting screw 43 coacts with the medial portion of the lever 31 so asto force the idler sheaves 30 which are journalled on the shaft 34against I3; and the slide I2 which detachably supports the anvil II,should be freely slidable along the guideway formed by the guides Ifltoward and away from the working zone. In order to limit this lidingmotion of the slide I2, the lower support 9 is provided with a side rod'I4 disposed parallel to the guides I0 and having thereon adjustable stopblocks I5 provided with locking clamps I6, and the slide I2 has anintegral finger or projection I'I which-is movable along the rod I Ibetween the adjustable limit blocks 15.

;As shown, the pneumatic hammer I may be supplied with air underpressure from a supply pipe I8 extending upwardly through the hollowframe column 5, tea manually controllable pressure regulator I9 and fromthence through a flexible connection to a control valve 2| carried bythe vertically adjustable cylinder of the hammer I. The cylinder of thehammer I is provided on one side with rack teeth 22 with which a rotarygear 23 is cooper-able, and the hammer control valve 2I has an actuatingstem 24 which is cooperable with a normally fixed but verticallyadjustable wedge member 25 carried by the upper bracket 6 of the mainframe. This assemblage is obviously such, that when the hammer I israised from the position shown in Fig. 1, the valve stem'flwilldisengage the wedge member 25 and the air admission valve' 2|will close and thereby stop the operation of the hammer, but when thehammer is subsequently lowered the stem 24 will reengage the member 25to automatically open the valve 2| and thereby place the hammer Iin'operation. In order to permit variation in the time at which suchstopping and starting ofthe hammer operation will be effected, the wedgemember 25 is vertically adjustable and may be locked in adjustedposition with the aid of a thumb screw 26.

Since both of the operators hands are normally beingutilized to hold thesheet metal 45 at the working zone and'between the impact element 8 andthe anvil I I, and for manipulation of the pressure regulator I9, itisextremely desirable that the mechanism for raising and lowering thehammer'l be controllable manually but without necessitating use of thehands. I have therefore provided a simple and convenient foot operabledevice for controlling the positioning of the hammer, and this controlmechanism comprises a the adjacent bends of the cables 21, 28. Theupperrear sheaves 3| are also idler or guide sheaves, and are thereforejournalled for rotation upon the shaft 35, but the upper front sheave 32are fastened to the shaft 36 which is journalledfor rotation in thebracket 6 and to which the gear 23 is also secured. The upper forwardends of the cables 21, 28 are again attached to and snugly coact withthe adjacent sheaves 32 in opposite directions; and this mechanism whichis concealed withinthe hollow frame,

is obviously so constructed and arranged, that pair of reversely movablecables 21, 28 concealed within the framebase 4, column 5, and bracket 6,and coacting with a series of sets of sheaves 2 9, 30, 3I,,32 carried byshort shafts 33, 34, 35, 36 respectively, three of which are mounted inthe adjacent parts of the frame and the other of which is mounted uponthe swinging end of a cable tensioning lever 31.

Secured to the lower front shaft 33 to which the sheaves 29 are alsofastened, is a foot operable roller 38 which is preferably covered withrubber surfacing for preventing slippage, and the lower front ends ofthe cables 21, 28 are attached to by rotating the roller 38 in onedirection the cable 21, 28 willfunction to raise the hammer I,

whereas opposite rotation of the roller {38 will result in lowering ofthe hammer together with its impact element 8. 1

During normal operation of the improved plan'- ishing machine, theoperator may be seated on'.

a chair in front of the machine within easy'reach of the pressureregulator I9 and of the working zone. Depending upon the type of work itis performing, the pressure regulator I9 should first be adjusted to theproper working pressure, and the proper type of impact element 8andanvil II should be applied to the hammer I and slide I2 respectively.The stop blocks I5 should also be adjusted along the rod I4 bymanipulation of the clamp I6, so as to provide for prope r extent ofmovement of the slide I2 along the guides I0, and the sheet metal 40'which is to be straightened may then be inserted between the impactelement 8 and the anvil II while the hammer! is raised andno air isbeing delivered thereto. When the air pressure has been thus properlyregulated and the other adjustments have been made, the operator maymanipulate theroller 38 with his foot. so as to gradually lowerthehammer I 'andto cause the impact element 8 to impinge against the sheetmetal 40' resting upon the anvil'II. may then be moved in any directionover the surface of the anvil II and this anvil with the sheet metalresting thereon together with the slide I2, may be moved bodily alongthe guides II] within the limits setby the stop blocks. I 5 so as tostraighten a-considerable area of the metal disposed within the workingzone, see Fig.3.

When straightening fiat sheets of'metal 40 which are devoid ofprojections or fianges,'. as indicated in Fig. 2, the stop blocks I5 maybe set to hold the anvil stationary and in axial alinement with theimpact element 8. Thesliding motion of the anvil II is however importantwhen straightening elongatedflanged pieces of 7 metal 49 as shown inFig. 3. Thestop blocks I5 should then be adjusted and fixed. so as tolimit the sliding motion of the slide I2 to 'an extent equal to thewidth of the anvil ,II which .is being utilized so that the oppositeedges of anvils I I thus permitted to shift 'across the were- The sheetmetal 40'.

ing zone, the central portion ofrthe hammer element may be caused: tostrike up to the very edges of the flanged piecesof metal 40'. Sincethese elongated flanged pieces of metal 40" are alsosli'dablelongitudinally along the anvils H, they may obviously be straightenedthroughout their entire areas, and such action was not possible withprior machines having fixed anvils. Thesezprior machines moreover couldnot be utilized'tostraighten workpieces having underslung flanges asshown in Fig. 13,. because their lower and inwardly directed flangeswould strike the anvil supports, and the present improved assemblage maytherefore be utilized to straighten sheet metal pieces of various shapesand sizes, with greatest ease and without obstruction.

Due to the fact that the position of the ham-.

mer I may be varied by means of the operators foot, his hands are freeat all times for manipulation of the sheet metal 40' which is beingstraightened, and the hammer l is automatically placed into and out ofoperation with the aid of the foot operable roller 38. By properadjustment of the screw 10, the tension of the cables 21, 28 may bereadily adjusted, so as to insure positive and rapid movement of thehammer in either direction, and the flexible hose 2B for conducting theair from the pressure regulator 19 to the valve 2| eliminatesinterference with the up and down movement of the hammer I. The operatormay also be seated in front of the working zone within easy reach of allof the adjusting elements, and the anvil support 9 can be readilyadjusted along the column so as to accommodate operators of differentsizes.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that my presentinvention provides an improved planishing machine which is extremelysimple, compact and durable in construction, and which is moreoverhighly efficient and flexible in use. The improved planisher canobviously be readily manipulated so as to greatly facilitate theplanishing of sheet metal parts of various sizes and shapes, by virtueof the provision of the laterally adjustable anvil H, and the airpressure as well as the limits of movement of the slide I2 can bequickly andreadily varied as they are located within easy reach of theworking zone. By virtue of the fact that the motion transmitting cables21, 28 and the sheaves with which they coact, are all concealed withinthe hollow portions of the main frame, these parts are not onlyprotected against tampering, but the operator is also protected againstpossible injury. The automatic actuation of the valve 2| by merelyraising and lowering the hammer l, is also a safety feature whicheliminates waste of air when the hammer is not in actual use, and byadjusting the wedge member 25 the time of actual operation of the hammerI may be conveniently varied. The improved planishing mechanism hasproven highly satisfactory and successful in actual commercial use,especially in the airplane manufacturing industry, and the assemblagecan obviously be manufactured at moderate cost and is most convenientlyoperable to effectively perform its duty.

It should be understood that it is not desired to limit this inventionto the exact details of construction or to the precise mode of use,herein shown and described, for various modifications within the scopeof the appended claims may occur to persons skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. A planishing machine comprising, a fixed frame, a nemnauc hammerbodily adjustable relative to said frame toward and away from aworkin'gzone, an anvil carried by said frame and. being freely slidabletransversely across the axis of said hammer, means carried by said framefor starting and stopping the operation (if said hammer, and means foreffecting adjustment of the hammer to cause said starting and stoppingmeans to function.

2. A planishing machine comprising, a fixed frame, a pneumatic hammerbodily adjustable relative to said frame toward and away from a Workingzone, an anvil carried by said frame and being freely slidabletransversely across the axis of said hammer, means carried by said framefor starting and stopping the operation of said hammer, and footoperable means confined within said frame for effecting adjustment ofthe hammer to cause said starting and stopping means to function.

3. A planishing machine comprising, a fixed frame, a pneumatic hammermovable vertically upon said frame toward and away from a working zoneand having thereon a starting and stopping valve, an anvil carried bysaid frame within said zone, means carried by said frame for actuatingsaid valve to operate the hammer when said hammer is moved vertically,and means for effecting up and down movement of said hammer relative tothe frame. I

4. A planishing machine comprising, a frame, a fluid pressure actuatedhammer bodily movable upon said frame toward and away from a workingzone and carrying a fluid control Valve, an anvil carried by said frameand being movable within said zone transversely of the direction ofmovement of said hammer, means carried by said frame and beingcooperable with said valve whenever the hammer is moved bodily to startand 40 stop the operation of said hammer, and remote control means formoving said hammer.

5. A planishing machine comprising, a frame, a fluid pressure actuatedhammer bodily movable upon said frame toward and away from a workingzone and carrying a fluid control valve, an anvil carried by said frameand being movable within said zone transversely of the direction ofmovement of said hammer, a wedge member mounted upon said frame andbeing cooperable with said valve whenever the hammer is moved down andup to start and stop the operation of said hammer, and foot operablemeans for moving said hammer toward and away from said zone.

6. Aplanishing machine comprising, a frame-a fluid pressure actuatedhammer bodily movable upon said frame toward and away from a workingzone and carrying a fluid control valve, an anvil carried by said frameand being movable within said zone, an adjustable member mounted uponsaid frame and being cooperable with said valve to start the operationof said hammer when the latter is moved toward said zone, and means forpositively bodily moving said hammer toward said zone.

'7. A planishing machine comprising, a frame, a fluid pressure actuatedhammer bodily movable upon said frame toward and away from a workingzone and carrying a fluid control valve, an anvil carried by said frameand being movable within said zone, an adjustable member mounted uponsaid frame and being cooperable with said valve to stop the operation ofsaid hammer when the latter is moved away from said zone, and means forpositively bodily moving said hammer away ,1

from said zone.

and away from a working zone, control means carried by said hammerforstarting and stopping the same, a member carried by said frame andbeing cooperable with said control means to start or stop the operationof said hammer whenever the latter is moved toward or away from saidzone, means for positively bodily moving said hammer in oppositedirections, and an anvil cooperable with said hammer and being freelymovable within said zone transversely of the direction of movement ofthe hammer.

WENDELL' K. BECKWITH.

